Israeli forces blocked the village of Nahalin, west of Bethlehem, on Wednesday morning after a stabbing attack took place near the Neve Daniel settlement the previous day.

The Israeli army sealed the village’s roads, preventing residents from entering or leaving. The blockade began Thursday evening after a stabbing attack left an Israeli settler moderately wounded.

The victim was jogging outside the settlement of Neve Daniel on Tuesday afternoon when he was attacked. The suspect reportedly fled in the direction of Nahalin, the nearest village. The 28-year-old victim was taken to the Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem and treated for wounds to his upper body. His condition was later updated to lightly wounded.

An Israeli army spokesperson said only “humanitarian cases” would be allowed to enter and exit the village, and that “security measures” had been enforced as “part of the search for the suspect”.

Mahmoud Fannoun, a member of Nahalin’s council, told Ma’an News that military checkpoints were set up on all routes to the village and all residents denied passage, including food suppliers which were denied entry.

According to Ma’an news, local residents said three men had been detained and dozens of young men interrogated. Workers were not allowed to reach their working places, including 500 public school teachers who work in the Bethlehem area.

Last week, Israeli forces sealed off access to the northern West Bank village of Qabatiya for three days, after three young residents carried out a shooting and stabbing attack in Jerusalem. The attack killed a border policewoman, and the three attackers were killed at the scene.

Blockades of West Bank villages following attacks by Palestinians have become more frequent in recent months. The blockades have been described by human rights groups as “collective punishment.”